Marek Zajączkowski – dancer,choreographer, ballet master. He attended to the Roman Turczynowicz State Ballet School in Warsaw. As a child he took part in ballet and opera performances at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, and in TV shows. After graduating, he worked in Central Art Group of the Polish Army as a ballet soloist. In 1982 he was engaged by the Teatr Wielki’s ballet in Warsaw. He performed numerous solo parts, including those in performances by Teresa Kujawa (Harnasie, Yerma, Goya) and John Neumeier (Love and Pain and the World and the Dream). Before leaving Poland, he also took part in Home Songbook, as a partner of Ewa Głowacka. In 1985 he moved to Canada, where he collaborated on a regular basis with three companies: Les Ballets Jazz d`Montreal, Ballet B.C. (as a dancer and founder) and Ballet Eddi Tussaind. He went on a tour of Japan, Brazil, the USA, Australia and Europe. He won a scholarship from the Canadian government and Canadian Ministry of Culture.
In 1989–1994 he worked in Neumeier’s company in Hamburg. He danced in over 20 Neumeier’s ballet choreographies (including Cinderella, Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello, Peer Gynt, Romeo and Juliet, The Rite of Spring). In 1992 he took part, together with the Hamburg company, in Mozart Festival in Salzburg with Barbara Hendricks (Requiem). After leaving Neumeier’s company, he worked as a ballet master in Amsterdam and at the Polish Dance Theatre in Poznań as a guest, where for one season he was Ewa Wycichowska’s assistant. In 1997–1999 he was the deputy director of the Cracow Opera and its choreographer and teacher; he created the choreography and designed costumes and lighting for Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major. Starting from the season 2005/2006 he was the head of the Opera Nova’s ballet, until September 2010. In 2006 his ballets Three Colours and Chopin in Nohant were premiered at the Opera Nova. In 2007 he created Ludomir Różycki’s Master Twardowski which opened the 14th Bydgoszcz Opera Festival. He has collaborated with the State Ballet School in Warsaw, working on choreographies for graduation class students. In the season 2011/2012 he was the head of the Grand Theatre ballet in Łódź.
Most important parts: Ballets: The Nutcracker (Castle Opera, Szczecin), Chopin in Nohant (Opera Nova, Bydgoszcz), Three Colours (Opera Nova, Bydgoszcz), Master Twardowski (Opera Nova, Bydgoszcz), Suite no.3 J.S. Bach (The Cracow Opera); Operas: The Countess (Castle Opera, Szczecin), Halka (Castle Opera, Szczecin), The Tales of Hoffmann (Castle Opera, Szczecin), Hansel and Gretel (Opera Nova), Traviata (Opera Nova); Operettas: Clivia (Castle Opera, Szczecin), Gasparone (Castle Opera, Szczecin); Musicals / choreographic suites: On The Town by Leonard Bernstein, West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, An American in Paris by George Gershwin, Cuban Overture by George Gershwin, Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock, Danzon no.2 by Arturo Marquez
